Orthopedic brace



D. 6, 1960 '.1. H. MORAN 2,963,020

ORTHOPEDIC BRACE Filed May 14. 1958 :zeeaaaa ZZ 2S gaga@ 2 FIG. z

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JOHN H. MoRAN Hl: Ammers United States Patent ORTHOPEDIC BRACE John H.Moran, West Bergen Road, Le Roy, N.Y.

Filed May 14, 1958, Ser. No. 735,331

10 Claims. (Cl. 12S-80) This invention relates to orthopedic braces, oneobject being to provide an improved brace mechanism for supporting andsteadying the feet in suitably adjusted positions, while enabling thewearer to move and exercise them more freely and naturally in stance andgait. More specifically stated, it is an object of the invention toprovide such a mechanism by which the feet of the wearer may beeffectively braced in such a way as to allow freedom of movementapproximating normal functioning in stance and gait, including relativemovements between the feet either forwardly'and rearwardly, or up anddown, or both, to enable the wearer to walk on a level surface or up anddown steps.

A further object is to provide a mechanism having the above advantagesin a construction which is practical and light in Weight and adapted tobe readily and economically manufactured and applied to the shoes of thewearer.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

- In the drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a brace mechanism embodying the aboveinvention partly broken away and before application to the shoes;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same with parts in section and showingattachment to the shoes;

Fig. v3 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified construction of theparallelogram linkage;

. Fig. 4 is an elevation substantially on the line 4-4 in` Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan View of a further modification of theparallelogram linkage.

-The preferredembodiment of the invention, herein disclosed by way ofillustration, comprises a pair of members for attachment, respectively,to the shoes of the wearer, the members carrying parts which areconnected by a parallelogram linkage to afford movement of each shoe,relative to the other, in forward and rearward directions, as inwalking, While the members attached to the shoes are connected to theends of the linkage by joints affording pivotal movements about axesextending forwardly and rearwardly so as to permit the wearer to s tepupwardly and downwardly as well as to walk forwardly in approximatelynormal stance and gait. VVReferring more particularly to the drawings,the construction comprises a pair of plate-like members for attachment,respectively, to the soles 11 of the shoes 12 ofthe wearer, as byY meansof rivets or other suitable attaching means (not shown).` Each member 10preff. ICC

erably extends from the heel to the ball portion of the foot and is ofsubstantial width so as to afford stable support for the shoe and foot.

Each member l0 has secured to its bottom, under the instep region of theshoe, a cylindrical boss 13, as by means of rivets 14 secured throughthe flanged base of the boss and member 10. The periphery of boss .13 isserrated, notched, or toothed in any suitable manner, as indicated at15, for engagement in an opening withA a similarly formed periphery in aplate-like part 16. A screw 17 is passed through member 10 and boss 13and carries at its lower end a nut 18 for securing the part 16 on boss13. It is apparent from this construction that part 16 may be removedfrom its boss and replaced and secured in a different angular relationwith the longitudinalaxis of the shoe, to adjust each shoe independentlyto a desired angular position with relation to a direction extendingforwardly and rearwardly of the wearer. A wear plate 19 is preferablysecured in spaced relation to the underside of member 10, as by posts20, for stable contact with the ground, to facilitate walking and toprotect the elements of the brace, and the under surfaces of plates 19are preferably surfaced with leather, rubber or other suitable material21 to cushion the contact with the ground and prevent slipping. f Theparts 16 of the shoe supporting members 10 are pivotally connected tothe ends of the parallelogram linkage indicated generally at 22. Forthis purpose, the inner ends of parts 16 are secured as by rivets 23 tothe half portions 24 of hinge type joints, the other half portions ofwhich 25 serve as the end links of the linkage. The shoe supportingmembers 10 are thus pivotally jointed with the ends of the linkage formovement about horizontal axes 26 to enable the wearer to raise andlower one foot relative to the other as in stepping up and down stairs.

The linkage comprises connecting links 27 and 28 pivotally connected attheir ends with the hinge parts 25 for movement parallel with each otherin the advancing movement of one foot relative to the other. Eachconnecting link is preferably made in two parts having overlapping ends,as indicated generally at 29, such ends being formed With longitudinalseries of holes 30 for the reception of screws 31 threaded into one ofthe links, and it is apparent from this construction that each link maybe adjustably varied in length. Such adjustment of the length of onelink relative to the length of the other provides a second way ofaltering the position of the members 10 and shoes in their angularrelation to the forward and rear direction and while such adjustmenttends to alter the parallel relation of the connecting links, it may beemployed in a limited way, temporarily or intermittently, to thus varythe angular relation of the feet, as particular cases may require. Suchalteration of both links may also be employed to vary the distancebetween the shoes. Such angular relation may be accomplished by theadjustment between parts 16 and members 10, as described above, or bysuch Yalteration of the lengths of the connecting links 27 and 28, orboth, as circumstances may indicate.

It is apparent from the above description of the construction that itenables the wearer to move each foot forwardly and rearwardly as inwalking, as well as up and down as in mounting stairs, in ways closelyapproximating normal stance and gait, with the beneficial exercise whichhas been found to aid in the restoration of normal functions, as in thetreatment of derangements of the lower limbs or feet and serves as wellinl restoring to the wearer the conveniences and comforts of naturallocomotion.

A modified construction is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in

which the parts 16 of the above construction are replaced by plate-likemembers 32 each having a pair of lugs 33 fixed thereto as by means ofrivets 34. Lugs 33 have their inner faces recessed to provide socketsfor the reception therebetween of balls 44 carried on stems 35 clampedbetween lugs 36 fixed to the ends of the connecting links of theparallelogram as by means of rivets 37, thus providing joints of theuniversal type between the ends of the links and the parts 16 of members10. v A further modification is shown in Fig. 3 by which means areprovided for clamping the connecting links of the parallelogram againstrelative movement, where found to be temporarily desirable, or forintermittent use as particular cases may require. Such means comprises apair of plates 38 removably clamped to the sides of the connecting linksof the parallelogram as by means of a small bolt 39. A lug 40 is securedbetween the plates 38 and between the adjacent edges of the connectinglinks so as to clamp the same securely together and prevent relativemovement therebetween, as may be found desirable, for example, atparticular times for progressive treatment in particular cases.

In cases where it is found desirable to assist the wearer in bringingthe feet back to positions of uniform advancement with each other,resort may be made to the modification shown in Fig. 5, in which a leafspring 41, of the bowed shape shown, is secured between the connectinglinks of the parallelogram as by attachment of one of its ends to one ofthe links by a suitable clamping clip 42, so that with the spring undersome initial tension, it tends to press the links apart and thus restorethe parallelogram to a rectangular shape, with the feet of the wearer inuniformly advanced or neutral positions.

The invention thus provides an orthopedic brace mechanism whicheffectively positions, steadies and supports the feet while permittingthe motions of both walking and stepping up and down, as insubstantially normal stance and gait and as found highly effective inrestoring the normal functions and convenience and comfort of the wearerin the prevention or correction of abnormal positioning or functioningof the lower limbs or feet.

It will thus be seen that the inventionv accomplishes its objects andwhile it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details ofpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure isintended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it iscontemplated that various modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An orthopedic walking brace device comprising a pair of members foraflixation, respectively, to the bottoms of the soles of the wearersshoes, means movably joining said members for movement freelytherebetween forwardly and rearwardly of the said members, a pivotalconnection between said joining means and each of said members formovement freely therebetween about axes extending forwardly andrearwardly of the wearers body, and means for holding said membersagainst turning transversely to the longitudinal axes of said shoes toafford free relative motion, forwardly and rearwardly and upwardly anddownwardly, between said members and enable said wearer to walk and tostep upwardly and downwardly in approximately normal gait.

2. An orthopedic brace device comprising a pair of members for aixation,respectively, to the bottoms of soles of the wearers shoes, aparallelogram linkage comprising pairs of opposed links with the linksof one of said pairs pivotally connected with the links of the other ofsaid pairs, said linkage extending between and having opposite linksthereof positioned adjacent said members, respectively, and meansmovably connecting said opposite links and respective members formovement of said members relatively to said linkage and to each othersubstantially about axes extending longitudinally of said members andshoes, to provide relative motion forwardly and rearwardly and upwardlyand downwardly between said shoes to enable said wearer to walk inapproximately normal gait.

3. An orthopedic brace device comprising the combination of elementsspecified in claim 2 in which said parallelogram linkage is positionedsubstantially at the level of said members.

4. An orthopedic brace device comprising the combination of elementsspecified in claim 2 in which said opposite links and members,respectively, are connected together by hinges having pivotal axesextending longitudinally of said members and shoes.

5. An orthopedic brace device comprising the combination of elementsspecified in claim 2 in which said memlbers are provided with partsadjustably connected to said opposite links of said parallelograms foradjusting the angular relation of the longitudinal axes of said membersand said shoes to each other.

6. An orthopedic brace device comprising the combination of elementsspecified in claim 2 in which said members are provided with wear platespositioned below said linkage, for contact with the ground to facilitatewalking and protect the parts of said device.

7. An orthopedic brace device comprising a pair of members forafixation, respectively, to the bottoms of the soles of the wearersshoes, a parallelogram linkage comprising pairs of opposed links withthe links of one of said pairs pivotally connected with the links of theother of said pairs, said linkage connecting said members to enablerelative motion forwardly and rearwardly between said shoes, connectionsbetween said linkage and said members, affording relative motion,upwardly and downwardly between said shoes to enable said wearer to walkand to step upwardly and downwardly in approximately normal gait andmeans for adjusting the relative lengths of opposite links of saidlinkage to provide adjustment in the angular relation of said shoes toeach other.

8. An orthopedic brace device comprising a pair of members foraffixation, respectively, to the bottoms of the soles of the wearersshoes, a parallelogram linkage comprising pairs of opposed links withthe links of one of said pairs pivotally connected with the links of theother of said pairs, said linkage connecting said members to enablerelative motion forwardly and rearwardly between said shoes, connectionsbetween said linkage and said members, affording relative motion,upwardly and downwardly between said shoes to enable said wearer to walkand to step upwardly and downwardly in approximately normal gait andmeans for releasably securing opposite links of said linkage togetheragainst relative movement therebetween to secure said members and shoesagainst relative forward and rearward movement.

9. An orthopedic brace device comprising a pair of members for aixation,respectively, to the bottoms of the soles of the wearers shoes, aparallelogram linkage comprising pairs of opposed links with the linksof one of said pairs pivotally connected with the links of the other ofsaid pairs, said linkage connecting said members to enable relativemotion forwardly and rearwardly between said shoes, connections betweensaid linkage and said members, affording relative motion, upwardly anddownwardly between said shoes to enable said wearer to walk and to stepupwardly and downwardly in approximately normal gait, and spring meansbetween opposite links of said linkage tending to resiliently press saidopposite links apart to move said members and shoes to relativepositions of substantially equal advancement.

10. An orthopedic brace device comprising a pair of 5 members foraffixation, respectively, to the bottoms 0f 5 the soles of the wearersshoes, a parallelogram linkage links of said linkage to provideuniversal movement comprising pairs of opposed links with the links ofone therebetween.

of said pairs pivotally connected with the links of the other of saidpairs, sa1d linkage connecting sa1d members References Cite m the fue ofthis patent to enable relative motion forwardly and rearwardly be- 5UNITED STATES PATENTS tween said shoes, connections between said linkageand 1,677,728 Robinson July 17, 1928 said members, affording relativemotion, upwardly and 2,514,870 Israel July 11, 1950 downwardly betweensaid shoes to enable said wearer to 2,585,342 Morgan Feb. 12, 1952 walkand to step upwardly and downwardly in approxi- 2,588,411 Robinson Mar.1l, 1952 mately normal gait, and universal joints connecting the 102,906,261 Craig Sept. 29, 1959

